Taking Ground Pt 1 – Kerrin Wallis [09/09/2018 AM]

Stirring vision and faith into our hearts

Key Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV)

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.

Rise up to do something wonderful for God for the generations to come.

We need to upgrade our facilities to accommodate the growth that will come as we move into what God wants for our future.

We are not minimising the blessing that God has given to Connect Church, but we are believing for more for Bendigo.

Nehemiah 2:7-10 (NKJV)

7 Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

God’s people rose up to achieve something for God together.

People were in bondage but they were looking to God for deliverance. Nehemiah approached the King for help and he gave Nehemiah all he wanted – “according to the good hand of my God upon me”

We need to believe that God is for us not against us

The enemies of God’s people were ‘deeply disturbed’ at what was happening before them.

The devil has good reason to be afraid. He hates it when God’s people work together to achieve all that God has promised them.

1. The devil hates it when we demonstrate God’s plan for us.

The devil gets nervous when we start to act. As it is said – “actions speak louder than words”.

Deut 28:13 (NKJV)

13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

The devil loves it when our facilities don’t reflect our blessing and faith.

Man looks at the outward but God looks at the heart.

The devil hates it when God matches the generosity and blessing because it speaks for the wellbeing of God’s people – the goodness of God.

When we begin to rise up and build, the enemy hates it.

2. The devil hates it because it releases us to help more people and see lives change

The church facilities need to be accessible for everyone.

Money equals the ability to reach more people – invest in reaching more people.

It is said that – ‘money is the root of all evil’. But it is the love of money that is the problem.

The devil will oppose whatever is planned to increase the kingdom.

3. The devil hates it because faith breaks new ground

It is said – ‘the rising tide lifts more ships’. People who stand up and strive for change can cause great breakthrough and be instrumental in others who strive for greater things.

Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing Norgay brought breakthrough when they conquered Mt Everest on May 29, 1953. Since then about 4,000 have reached the summit.

Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile on the 6th May 1954. Since then more than 1400 athletes have broken the 4 minute mile.

There is power in combined strength.

1 Sam 14:18-23 (NKJV)

In a group of 600 men there were only 2 swords – Saul and Jonathan.

King Saul ordered the men to bring the Ark (God’s presence) to the battle.

One man, Jonathan, was the first to get the breakthrough. God caused the battle to be won for them.

One step of faith leads to another.

God’s not limited, but we limit Him.

Eph 3:20 (NKJV)

The more you release God’s favour, the more He can do.

David faced giants, a bear and a lion, but God gave him the strength to overcome.

Kerrin & Teagan took one step of faith and now believes God for much more.

Heb 11:1 (NKJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

When Connect Church was first established, someone bought the land, built the church and then the administration building. They had faith to believe God for more.

4. The devil hates it when we show that we understand stewardship

It is Biblical that everything I have is the Lord’s. We are stewards of this world and everything that is in it.

Ps 21

Time, passion, energy and life – God owns it all.

We take care of it for God and we are responsible for all that we have.

The Lord holds us responsible for what He has given us.

Mat 25:3 (NKJV)

God gives us talents, resources, abilities, finances – are we stewarding it well?

The devil hates it when we realise that God owns everything and when we live our lives understanding stewardship.

5. The devil hates it when we get serious and passionate for God and when we work together to take ground for His kingdom

When we wander around and not take territory the devil loves it.

When we don’t try to take ground, the devil loves that too.

The devil hates it when God’s people do things to demonstrate God’s love to the world.

While Jesus talked about things, the devil didn’t care, but when He demonstrated His healing powers, the Pharisees rose up against Him

We need to see that ‘it is not equal giving, it is equal sacrifice’.

The Miracle Offering booklet was handed out to the church outlining what the next step in our faith offering was to be.

The devil is terrified of this because it shows him what Connect Church is planning.

We are putting the stake in the ground for the next move of God.

Kerryn stated that we need to talk to God and ask Him what He wants us to do.

We are believing for a breakthrough for the city because of our expansion plan.

We need to be stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ because the community needs the gift of Jesus.

We need to give our finances to help build facilities to enable us to outreach to the community to ensure their eternity.

Questions for discussion

Can you rise up to do something great for God?

Do you understand the principle of Stewardship?

What happens when someone makes the first move?

Do you think the devil is terrified about the proposed rebuilding of Connect Church?

What strategies do you think the devil will use to prevent the move of God at Connect?